15 days
Countries visited Colombia Tour Highlights Wander cosmopolitan Colombia s cultural highlights Stay at an authentic Coffee Farm The walled city of Intramuros in Manila Gentle birding in three of Colombia's top sight-seeing areas Look out for rare Colombian birds Cartagena s colonial architecture ID 52 - P a g e 1
Places visited La Florida Park Otun Quimbaya National Park Rio Blanco Choco Nevado del Ruiz National Park Medellin Santa Marta Cartagena What's included Birding guide throughout All airport transfers All accommodation Internal flights Ground transportation Entrance fees to parks Most meals (see meal plan in itinerary) All accommodation subject to availability. Final accommodation choices will be confirmed after booking. ID 52 - P a g e 2
Your Itinerary Explained Date Place visited B: The first part of the text in each day is the itinerary schedule and will explain what you will Breakfast normally see/do during this day of your itinerary. --L: The part of the day s text in italics (and comes after the three dashes --- ) is background Lunch information on the places or sites on that day of your itinerary. It is not part of your D: itinerary and may mention places that will not be visited on your itinerary. If you have any Dinner questions please ask us. Travel times where noted are only meant as a guideline. Tour Itinerary Day 1 Day 2 Arrive in where you will be met at the airport by a Travel The Unknown representative and brought to your hotel. Overnight in. --Nestled high in the Andes at 2620 m. (8646 ft),, or Santafé de to give it its full title, is a city of contrasts, with high-rise buildings standing next to colonial churches, museums and artisan cafés. Its influences range from Spanish and English to the Indian. It is a city of wild traffic and calm oases reflecting a bygone era. D The day begins with a trip along the funicular railway or cable-car to the Monastery of Montserrate. Next, visit Quinta de Bolivar Museum, Museo de Oro (Gold museum) and Plaza de Bolivar. Overnight in Bogota. Day 3 Otun Quimbaya National Park You will start with a visit to La Florida Park, before flying to the city of Pereira. Visit Otun Quimbaya National Park. Overnight in a nearby lodge. ID 52 - P a g e 3
--Otún Quimbaya National Park is around 5sq/km of humid vegetation. This consists of wetland and tree farms as well as natural forests. One of the attractions in the park is Otún Lagoon, situated at a height of 4000 metres above sea level. The national park is home to a wide variety of birds including crested eagle, moustached antpitta and mountain parakeet as well as differing species of butterfly. Otun Quimbaya The lodge nearby where you will stay is home to many species of bird, like Chestnut Wood National Park Quail, Moustached Pittbird, Chestnut-breasted Wren, Rufous-breasted Flycatcher and Flame-Rumped Tanager. La Florida Park is located near the Bogota International Airport. From here, there is an opportunity to view the Spot- Flanked Gallinule, Silvery-Throated Spine tail and the Noble Snipe. Day 4 Manizales Manizales The morning will be spent at your lodge doing some bird-watching. In the afternoon travel to Manizales to visit a coffee farm. Overnight on coffee farm. The farm is home to many species of bird, like Chestnut Wood Quail, Moustached Pittbird, Chestnut-breasted Wren, Rufous-breasted Flycatcher and Flame-Rumped Tanager. --Colombia has a strong coffee industry which you will learn about during the trip to Manizales. Coffee originated in Ethiopia but has been grown in Colombia for 200 years. The country is the third largest coffee producer in the world after Brazil and Vietnam. ID 52 - P a g e 4
Day 5 Manizales Day 6 Rio Blanco Reserve The day involves a full day of bird watching at the Rio Blanco reserve. Accommodation will again be provided at the coffee farm near Manizales. --Rio Blanco Reserve holds many species of the Central Andes. On the hummingbird feeders we ll look for Tourmaline Sunangel and White-bellied Woodstar. In the reserve are Tyrannine Woodcreeper, Dusky Piha, Handsome Flycatcher, Oleaginous Hemispingus, Buffbreasted Mountain-Tanager, Plushcap and Black-eared Hemispingus. There are also Yellowbilled Cacique, Black-billed Peppershrike, Masked Saltator, Black-billed Mountain-Toucan, Powerful Woodpecker, Northern Mountain Cacique, White- capped Tanager and Goldenplumed Parakeet. Nevado del Ruiz National Park - Las Tangaras Reserve Begin the day with a drive to Nevado del Ruiz National Park, stopping at the Elfin Forest and Paramo en route. In the afternoon, drive to Las Tangaras reserve where overnight accommodation will be provided. --Nevado del Ruiz National Park will allow you to look for Golden-breasted Puffleg, Andean Tit-Spinetail, White-chinned Thistletail, Black-backed Bush-Tanager, Rufous-fronted Nevado del Ruiz Parakeet, Andean and Pygmy-Owl. You will also be able to look out for White-browed National Park Spinetail, Crowned Chat-Tyrant, Ocellated Tapaculo, Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager and Pale-naped Brush-Finch. Elfin Forest and Paramo is home to the Bearded Helmetcrest. Other species that we may encounter are Viridian Metaltail, Tawny Antpitta, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, Stout-billed Cinclodes and Glossy Flowerpiercer. Day 7 Choco Chocó Rainforest Today we visit the Choco Rainforest in Western Colombia for a full day of bird-watching. An overnight stay is provided at Las Tangaras Lodge. --The Chocó rainforest in western Colombia has one of the highest concentrations of rangerestricted biodiversity in the world, with many birds, plants and amphibians at risk of extinction. You will be driven along the road to the best trails, where hummingbird feeders at the trailhead hold at least 10 species. Here, you can look for endemics such as Chocó Vireo, Gold-ringed Tanager, Black-and-gold Tanager, Chestnut Wood-Quail, Alto de Pisones Tapaculo. Other specialties here include Beautiful Jay, Black Solitaire, Fulvous-dotted Treerunner, Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager, Orange- breasted Fruit-eater, Toucan Barbet and White-headed Wren. ID 52 - P a g e 5
Day 8 Medellin In the morning you will have some free time at Las Tangaras before heading to the city of Medellin. After lunch, visit Botero Museum in the city centre. Evening is free for own exploration. Overnight in Medellin. --Medellin's Botero Museum is a renovated colonial house that is now home to artwork, much of which was supplied by Fernando Botero when it first opened. There is also a display Botero Museum of 20th century sculptures available for viewing. As the second largest city in Colombia, the bustling streets of Medellin are awash with features that highlight its historical and cultural significance. Medellin is also noted for its numerous sculptures from local artist Fernando Botero. Botero s sculptures frequently show people that have been purposely swollen and enlarged, something done to convey his negative attitude towards politics. Day 9 La Romera - Santa Marta Visit La Romera Forest in the morning before flying to Santa Marta for an afternoon tour of the city. Continue to Minca for overnight. --At La Romera Forest, you can expect to see the endemic Red-bellied Grackle, Greenish Puffleg, Rufous-naped Greenlet and Pale-naped Brush-Finch. The elusive endemic Yellowheaded Manakin is also often found here. La Romera Forest Day 10 Positioned between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains and the Caribbean Sea, Santa Marta s history, colonial architecture and beaches make it one of the most popular tourist towns for Colombians. Santa Marta is the oldest remaining city in Colombia, founded in 1525 by Rodrigo de Bastidas in order to exploit the gold treasures of the Tayronas. By 1600, the Tayrona tribe had been wiped out and the gold had all been taken. La Casa de la Aduana is the museum dedicated to the Tayrona s history. Simon Bolivar, who played a key role in Latin America s fight for independence, died in Santa Marta in December 1830. His house Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino is now a museum. Spend the morning at the forest around Minca for bird-watching. After lunch, travel to the for more birding. Overnight in a lodge here. ID 52 - P a g e 6
Day 11 Day 12 Full day bird-watching in. Accommodation in a comfortable lodge. --At, you will be able to take things fairly gently and have plenty of time to rack up the endemics at this gorgeous site which features views of both the city of Santa Marta below and the mountain peaks (the tallest in Colombia) above. Amongst the many endemics you will find the endangered Santa Marta Parakeet, the newly discovered Santa Marta Screech Owl, Blossomcrown, White-tailed Starfrontlet, Santa Marta Toucanet, Rustyheaded Spinetail, Santa Marta Antpitta, Santa Marta Tapaculo and Santa Marta BushTyrant. In addition to this, you will be able to see Santa Marta Mountain Tanager, Santa Marta Warbler, White-lored Warbler, Yellow-crowned Whitestart, Brown-rumped Tapaculo, and Santa Marta Brush-finch. This list doesn't include the many others we will see including Scarlet-fronted Parakeet, White-tipped Quetzal, and Golden-breasted Fruit-eater. Full day bird-watching in. Accommodation in a comfortable lodge. Day 13 - Cartagena There is free time in the morning before driving to Cartagena. Overnight in a comfortable hotel in Cartagena. Cartagena Day 14 Cartagena The full day will be spent on a sightseeing tour of Cartagena. Overnight in Cartagena. --- Cartagena ID 52 - P a g e 7
Meander through Cartagena s picture-perfect streets, and admire the city that is famous for both its beauty and its history. Founded in 1533, Cartagena became the main port on the Caribbean coast during Spanish rule. Treasure was stored in the city until it could be taken to Spain and for this reason, in the 16th century, Cartagena suffered five sieges including one led by Francis Drake in 1586. This is why the Spaniards then built the forts (Fuertes) and walls (Las Murallas) that still encompass the old town. The Puerta Del Reloj (Clock Gate) signifies the entrance to the inner part of the walled city, also called Calamari. Just behind this is the Plaza de los Coches which used to serve as a slave market. The Plaza de la Aduana and Plaza de Bolivar also have fascinating historical context as well as the numerous churches, museums, convents and monuments. Day 15 Cartagena - - Departure Flight from Cartagena to to connect with international departures from airport. B ID 52 - P a g e 8 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)